“Red tape is slowly strangling one of the U.K.’s primary core strengths,” said Steve Jacobs, chief executive of BTG Pactual’s asset management business, who was speaking in a personal capacity about the European Union’s impact on the City of London.

In an interview with Financial News, he added that regulation currently hanging over the City from Brussels has been “burdensome and ill thought-through”.

James Barham, chief executive of River and Mercantile Asset Management, said: “There clearly are enormous arguments to support the original objectives of creating a free and common market for the benefit of all member states. However, as we know, we are very far from this purist ideal. The raft of regulation we have been subjected to over the last 10 years is endless, much of which one cannot believe has had any tangible benefit on our industry or our clients.”

Tim Hames, director general at trade body the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, cited the Working Time Directive and Agency Workers Directive as prime examples of European legislation that had proved “particularly burdensome” for U.K. businesses. He added that the European Commission’s “regulate first, question later” approach could be damaging the financial sector’s ability to help generate economic growth at a time when it is needed most. He said the prospective financial transaction tax was a good example of this and added that a British exit from the EU would “lighten the load of compliance” as the U.K. could regulate these areas unilaterally.

And financial institutions may find they benefit from the freedom to avoid regulation relating to employment issues, such as bonus caps, according to Mark Mansell, employment partner at law firm Allen & Overy. He said: “If we left Europe we would have more flexibility.” Mansell believes that some European banks might even move their headquarters to London: “The freedom of movement of employees could be an issue but the U.S. banks don’t have great problems currently in moving key staff to London.”

Jon Moulton, founder of private equity firm Better Capital, said he supported an exit because he disliked the “large public sector, high regulation and consequent relative or absolute decline in [the U.K.] economy”.

“If conditions are [in place] for the financial industry to keep using London as a hub, it will do so as there is no other city in Europe that comes close to putting [up] a fight with London,” Mr. Noronha said.